Ingrid Bergman

Who was Ingrid Bergman? For much of her turbulent life, the public could not decide: Was this luminous Swedish actress the embodiment of pious devotion as portrayed in her saintly roles such as Joan of Arc? Or was she an unrepentant harlot who abandoned her husband and child to have an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini?

In this sprawling biography, Bergman emerges as a devoted artist whose refusal to be a caricature caused her endless trouble - but also produced brilliant performances, from her early role opposite Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca to her profound and final appearance as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. In between, there were four children (including actress Isabella Rossellini), three husbands, and passionate affairs with war photographer Robert Capa, Wizard of Oz director Victor Fleming, and Spellbound co-star Gregory Peck.

Over her forty-seven-year career, Ingrid Bergman performed in fifty-five movies - in five languages and seven countries - and eleven stage productions, picking up three Oscars along the way. In the words of one biographer, she was "arguably the most international star in the history of entertainment." And, without a doubt, one of the most misunderstood.